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Viking hoards and the making of England

A series of free talks and handling sessions that focuses on current archaeological work. These talks allow professional archaeologists, related specialists and community groups to share their exciting work with us as it is happening and include regional, national and international projects.

Dr Gareth Williams, Curator of early medieval coinage, Coins and Medals Department, British Museum and curator of the British Museum exhibition Vikings: Life and Legend

The conventional history of the unification of England is largely derived from records written at the West Saxon court. According to this version of events, the people of Mercia and Northumbria gratefully accepted the rule of Alfred the Great of Wessex and his descendants as saviours against the hated Vikings. Viking hoards, and the coins within them, suggest a more complex situation. This lecture re-evaluates the process of unification in the light of new hoard evidence, including the important hoards from Watlington and the Vale of York, on display together for the first time.